Insultingly Stupid Movie Physics
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motion of object passed through, 201
speed of, 174
tracer, 282
Bullet trajectory and geometry of aiming sniper rifles, 25–27
Bus jump, 133–139
center of mass, 134
downward acceleration due to gravity, 136
ramp and ramp angel, 134, 136
takeoff velocity, 136
torque to rotate, 135
Butterfly effect, 269
C
Car, airborne
air cannon, 255
kicker plates, 254–255
Matrix II, 255
net force, 254
Carnot efficiency
heat loss, 39
friction, 39
Cars
as weapons, 175–176, 280
kinetic energy, 176
Cellular [PGP] (2004), 250–251
Center of mass, 233, 245–246
in martial arts, 246
and pivot point, 245
and spear throwing, 249–251
Center of rotation, 233
Centripetal acceleration
and aircraft, 159–160
fatal turns by spacecraft, 158–160
Centripetal force, 233, 236
Change of motion, 67
Changing velocity and acceleration, 147
Chaos theory, in Jurassic Park, 270
Cigarettes
as lighters, 273–290
Circumference, 233
Collateral Damage [PGP] (2002), 114
Collision with concrete dome
falling debris, 77
ricochet, 77
Combustion and free radicals, 274–275
Comic book adaptation, 5
Compression in Honey I Blew up the Kids,62
Conservation of momentum, 253
with handgun, 252
Constant density approach in Honey I Blew up the Kids, 56–63
Counting gunshots in Dirty Harry,18
Critical velocities related to gravity, 217
Cyclist jump, 129
downward-sloping parabolic path, 125
D
D-cell batteries, 43
Deep Impact [PGP-13] (1998), 213, 220–222
Density, 52–63, 156, 214
falling, 156
Honey I Blew up the Kids, 56–63
Honey I Shrunk the Kids, 52–57
Dirty Harry [PGP] (1971)
counting gunshots, 18
and movie mathematics, 18
Distance, 108, 196
explosions, 108
of asteroid, 223
Distortion of judgment about shooting, 202–203 Distribution of force, 94
Downward acceleration by gravity and air resistance, 125
Driving geometry, 28–30
E
Elastic stability, 61, 265
and building collapse, 266–267
experiment, 62
in Honey I Shrunk the Kids, 52–57
Empire’s Death Star, 103–104
Energy
concentrated versus dispersed, 42
and conservation, 290
Equal and opposite “touching force,” 86
Eraser [RP] (1996), 185–190
Explosion propagation effects, 101
and blast front, 101
and electromagnetic pulse, 102
Explosions
in Collateral Damage, 114
and resulting fireball, 108–113
and infrared radiation (IR), 111
in shafts and tunnels, 113–114
outrunning, 108
shock wave from, 102, 111
F
Falling, 153–156
bullets, 173
density, 156
gravity constant (g) and, 172
humans, 171–172
spaceship, 165
in The Mexican, 175
in XXX State of the Union, 155
Fantasy cartoons, 5
Fighter aircraft (machine guns act as thrusters), 90
Fire, conditions needed for, 274–275
Fireball from explosions, 108–113
First law of thermodynamics, 34
and A.I.: Artificial Intelligence,44
and bullet penetration, 79
conservation of energy, 34
converting mass into energy and back, 36
E = MC2, 35
in Honey I Shrunk the Kids, 52–57
in The Hulk [NR] (2003), 36
in Spider-Man,37
Force, 215
normal, 231–237
Fragmentation grenade, 112
and shrapnel, 113
Free-body diagram and Newton’s third law, 84–86
Free radicals, 274–275, 284
combustion of , 275
oxygen, contact with fuel, 284
Friction
and momentum, 181
in Lethal Weapon, 181
Friction force, in Speed II: Cruise Control, 150
Fuel, 299
in Star Wars Episode III, 298
Fuel, mass of, 46, 192
in A.I.: Artificial Intelligence,46
required for liftoff, 192
for robots, 46
Fusion process, powered by, 288
Enterprise’s impulse engines are thrusters, 288
G
Galileo, rate of fall independent of mass, 138
Gasoline and flammable temperature range, 277
Geometry of driving, 28–30
Getting gunfights right in Blackhawk Down,28
Glass
attractive force of, 179
safety, laminated, 87–89
Gravitational attraction in Armageddon, 169
Gravity, 139, 224
artificial, 160, 231–242
direction of, 225
sensation of, 299–300
in Star Wars Episode III, 298
in The Core, 225
Gravity acceleration and air resistance, 125
Grenade, white phosphorous, 112
gs, 151–153, 224, 230
and falling, 172
and fatal turns by spacecraft, 158–160
and feeling of zero gravity, 302
inside Earth, 215
on planet, moon, or asteroid, 214–215
in Speed II: Cruise Control, 150, 153
strength of, 215
as unit of acceleration, 152
Gun recoil
and acting, 89–90
of .50-caliber machine gun, 90
in Pearl Harbor,90
Gunshots, counting, in Dirty Harry,18
H
High acceleration requirement, 151
High-energy particle beams
behavior in space, 73
deflection of, 75–76
and magnetic field shield, 74
straight trajectory of, 73
High pressure and spaceship falling, 165
High temperature, 166
and spaceship falling, 165
High velocity impact in space, 72
Honey I Blew up the Kids [NR] (1992), 56–63
compared to large and small humans, 57–58
constant density approach, 59
density, 58
Honey I Shrunk the Kids [NR] (1989), 52–57
remove molecules, 53–54
Hulk jumping 140
I
Incendiary bullets, in Raiders of the Lost Ark, 282
Independence Day [RP] (1996), 164–168
blast wave, 166
high pressure, 166
high temperature, 166
wind velocity, 165
Indoor gun battles, 76
The Matrix Revolution,76
Inertia, 196–199
rotational, 196–199
Inertial dampers, 160–161
Star Trek, 160
Inter- and intramolecular space, 56
Honey I Blew up the Kids, 56–63
J
Japanese zeros’ cannons recoil
complicates aim, 90
JFK [RP] (1991) 27, 195, 203
Oswald’s gun and skill, 27
Joule-Thompson effect, 75
Jumps and Hulk, 140
Jump vehicle. See Vehicle jump, most famous
Jurassic Park [PGP-13] (1993), 270
K
Kennedy’s head motion, analysis of, 196–200
King Kong [PGP-13] (2005), 60–61
Kinetic energy, 169, 188, 263, 280, 290
bullet, 280
falling bullets, 173
falling humans, 171
heat, 280
in Armageddon, 169
in space debris, 289–290
in The Core, 171
in tsunami, 263
loss of, 280
Knife throwing, 247–249
L
Laminated safety glass, 87–89
Lasers, behavior in space, 73
Law of conservation of momentum, 180
Law of inertia: mass resists a change in motion, 67
Lethal Weapon [PGP-13] (1987), 179–184
Lift, 301, in Star Wars Episode III, 301
Lorentz factor, 187
M
Machine guns acting as thrusters for fighter jets, 90
Magnetic field
rail-gun, 188
as shield, 74
Magnetic field, Earth’s and earthquake weapon in The Core [XP] (2003), 9–10
Magnetic field shield, 74, 75
high velocity charged-particle beam, 74
Make-believe movie history in Pearl Harbor [PGP-13] (2001), 11–13
Martial arts and Newton’s third law, 92
Mass, 54, 192, 215, 233
acceleration, 192
in Honey I Shrunk the Kids, 52–57
at rest, 187
Mathematics, super-tsunami, and Bernoulli’s equation, 261–262
Mission to Mars [RP] (2000), and spaceship rotation, 238
Models of physics, 34
Momentum, 180, 290
backward, 187
of bullets, 180–181
conservation of, 196, 200–202
forward, 187
and friction, 181
human, 180–181
in Lethal Weapon, 180–185
need for conservation of, 290
rotational, 196–199
shooting victim’s, 183
shooter’s, 183
speed of light, 187
Motion of target, 26
Movie mathematics, 18–19
Movie physics done right
in 2001: A Space Odyssey, 237
in Band of Brothers, 112
in Cellular, 250
in Pushing Hands, 93
in Saving Private Ryan, 112
in The Road to Perdition, 79
Physics models, 34
Movies as good physics teaching tools, 2
Muscle strength to weight ratio in King Kong, 60–61
N
NASA’s first working space walk, 96–98
and Newton’s third law, 96
Net force, 254
car, airborne, 254
pushing and resistance forces, 68
Net torque, 245–246
and rotational acceleration, 245
Newton’s first law, 68, 151
in Speed II: Cruise Control, 151
Newton’s second law, (second law of thermodynamics), 151
Newton’s third law
in 2001: A Space Odyssey,94
and boxers, 83
and glass, 86
explained, 84
gun recoil, 89
shooting victim, 183
in Star Wars Episode II,91
Yoda’s force on the rocks equal to their weight, 91
Newtonian martial arts, 92
Normal force, 231–237, 232–237, 236
artificially produced, 236
centripetal force, 236
in space, 236–247
sensation of weight, 235
Nuclear bomb, 103, 163, 170
in Independence Day [RP] (1996), 164
in The Core, 170–171
used to save earth, 103, 163–165
O
Opposing forces (equal and opposite), 84
Orbital velocity, 301
in Star Wars Episode III,30
Outrunning fiery explosions, 108–113
P
Painters breaking laws of physics, 45
Parody and bad physics, 5
Pearl Harbor [PGP-13] (2001), 90
bombs-fall-straight-down myth, 117
and make-believe movie history, 11–13
and physics of bomber flight, 12
and physics of dog-fighting, 12
Perpetual motion machine, and frictionless environment, 40
Physics clichés becoming obsolete, 7
Physics of bomber flight in Pearl Harbor,12
Physics of bombing, 117–124
and bomb’s velocity, 119
and downward-sloping parabolic path, 119
and gravity, 119
Physics of dog-fighting in Pearl Harbor,12
Potential energy, 171, 267
and building collapse, 267
and falling humans, 171
President Kennedy assassination, 203–210
Pressures and temperatures, 264, 265
in building collapse, 265
from water depth, 263–264
in Honey I Shrunk the Kids, 52–57
in The Core [XP] (2003), 9–10
in The Day After Tomorrow, 260
in Star Wars Episode III, 298
and type of external load, 264
of water, 260
Projectile trajectory, 73–79
deterioration due to gravity, 72–78
downward curving, 73
WWII versus space, 73
Properties of similar triangles in handgun shooting, 20
Pulp Fiction [PGP]
physics precision and artistic ambiguity, 21
movie physics done right, 21
Pushing Hands [GP] (1992), 93
R
Radioactive contamination, 52
Radius, car turning in The Italian Job, 28–30